NYMEX Overview: Brent Crude Futures Up; Iran Warns of Retaliation After US Strike — OPIS

London-based Brent crude contracts were trading sharply higher on Tuesday after Iran vowed to retaliate against violations of its recent cease-fire agreement with Washington following new U.S. attacks on Tehran's military assets.

Brent futures were up around $4 Tuesday, partially recovering the previous day's $7 drop, after President Trump said over the weekend that a U.S.-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was "largely negotiated."

West Texas Intermediate crude contracts were down more than $2, however. The Brent-WTI divergence reflects the fact that WTI did not settle on Monday due to the U.S. Memorial Day holiday, and Brent's rapid reversal on Tuesday also underscored investor skepticism over the latest cease-fire.

At 12:05 p.m. ET, London-based ICE July Brent was around $3.95 higher to $100.05/bbl and August Brent was up $3.75 to $97.20/bbl.

NYMEX July WTI was $2.65 lower to $93.95/bbl and August WTI was down $2.45 to $90.65/bbl.

RBOB and ULSD contracts tracked WTI prices lower. More-active July RBOB was down 14.25cts to $3.2085/gal and June RBOB was 16.05cts lower at $3.2930/gal. July ULSD was off by 9.85cts to $3.6735/gal and June ULSD was down 12.3cts to $3.765/gal.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to retaliate against violations of the cease-fire after a renewed bout of fighting in which the U.S. struck missile launchers in southern Iran.

On Monday, the U.S. sank two Revolutionary Guard ships it said were attempting to lay mines in the strait. Iran responded by launching surface-to-air missiles at U.S. planes, prompting American attacks on missile launchers, a U.S. Central Command official said.

The military actions came after Trump said Saturday that a draft framework to shape future end-of-war talks with Iran and reopen the strait is near "finalization."

The U.S. strike against Iranian military assets has not appeared to derail the peace talks, though it likely deepens Iranian distrust in Washington, Matt Portillo, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. analyst, said in a Monday note.

While the talks were positive, the oil market's fundamentals remained unchanged as oil production among several key Persian Gulf producers remained shut in, Portillo added.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2026 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)